SWR

[corvette_br]

In the late 90's- early 2000's I used to have band practice at a space that had a Basic 350 head. I loved it.

 

[Nebadon2000]

They made good gear, just have to decide if the tone was for you or not. I still own a redhead and love it. I also owned and liked a 350X, I owned a working man 400 head that I did not like the sound of. I now favor all tube Ampegs but I kept the redhead. Your mileage may vary

SWR Red Head may still be the best Combo I ever heard; would have bought one but a friend[who was switching to Guitar] had SWR Head and 4x10 Goliath he sold me at very good price

Used Studio 220 as a preamp with Peavey Power Amp with original band 2002-09 for Gig's and recording worked Great

As #SJan3 found out 220 wasn't much of a power amp for Gigging was designed for studio or very light Gig's
but pre was top notch at the time.

 

[logdrum]

Last time I was part of a non profit bringing in some jazz groups and fulfilling rider requirements, the backline company I contacted still have SWR amps and heads and some artists preferred them and the aural enhancer was at least in the middle contrary to the TB rule. This was 2013 to 2015 thereabouts. TB is entertainment first and foremost, but man there are pronouncements here thatt made me feel inferior and worthless after hearing how bad SWR amps are supposed to be. But I still have mine a Bass 350 pre Fender, pre internet.

One group I play we used it every week ( I left it at his music shed ) and he invites others as well so it gets used. When I saw Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, VW was using one. He sounded great then. My longest running amp. Come to think of it except for pre-amp tubes and de-oxit on the pots once in a while and one resistor on the input , it never needed any service. 1990 to present day - 33 years. With some periods of non playing. It looks beat and scratched up.

And mine is also 2 ohm capable. I run it with 2 210's. A Carvin and a Mesa

 

[Relsom]

I started my SWR journey in the '90s with a Redhead non-Super and learned to hate it almost as much as my old Cerwin Vega BG250. It sounded okay with an extension, weak on its own, and was a miserable schlep. The worst part is I sold a beautiful Kramer era NS-2 to pay for it. I moved on to a SM400S and a pair of Goliath Jrs. That rig satisfied me for several years... and even better with an Alembic F1/X in the front end.
My tastes changed and I got GAS for Ashdown in the early 2000s a long with a desire to downsize, so that was pretty much it for SWR and me.
I regret never owning a Basic Black combo though. It impressed me very much for it's size.

 

[Alec Berfield]

Thx

 

[Callused Finger]

 

[Alec Berfield]

Yikes!

 

[SkylineFiver]

IMO the SWR Back Beauty was their best sounding amp.

 

[BeMoreFrench]

I'd kill to get a Redhead or Super Redhead again at home just for tracking, recording. I so much regret to have sold mine in the early 2000's.

 

[InhumanResource]

Was SWR good product in 2005?

I had Goliath cabinets a few times as back line and thought they sounded pretty damn good. Think the challenge with them is getting replacement parts or drivers if necessary.

 

[DuluthDank]

I really liked their line of acoustic instrument amplifiers. The Strawberry Blonde, California Blonde, etc. My upright sounded great through them, but so did bass guitar. Just an extremely clear, not over hyped sound.

My biggest regret with SWR is they didn't hang around quite long enough to produce ultra light versions of their acoustic instrument combos.

 

[BluesBrothers51]

I still own an original SM900 (pre-fender) Purchased new along with a Sr Goliath 6x10 cabinet and gigged with them for over 25 years. Never had a problem dialing in the sound I needed/wanted-great rig. I currently use it as a practice amp matched with a Jr Goliath 2x10. i also have the Headlite 400 Watt head

 

[DaveParker39]

My Favorite SWR Tone is Ian Hill's Live rig (Judas Priest)

 

[brianrost]

I had the Baby Blue II, actually two of them. One was the combo and the other was the more rare head/cab version. They had an interesting 3 band EQ...all bands were sweepable...the cab used two 8" woofers and a 5" midrange speaker but no tweeter. I though it sounded much smoother than cabs with horn tweeters.

The Fender era Baby Baby Blue combo used the same amp chassis but a 10" woofer and piezo tweeter, I thought it sounded terrible.

 

[Jim C]

I have an early late 80's SM400 and a Fender version of the SM500.
Both work great but only with an outboard HPF. Reliable as a stone!

 

[Chrome Dome]

I have the earlier Redhead,and had couple of them down through the years. Managed to find another one,about year ago. I still have mine,and play it at Church,and don't have to transport it around anymore. Keeper IMO.

 

[40Hz]

SWR SM-400 and Goliath II Junior 2x10.

Bought it back in the 80s and it’s still one of my main rigs.

It has a very clean hifi studio sort of sound. Plays well with effects. Not excessively heavy.

The EQ section on mine can be difficult to get your head around. And it takes a little while to completely suss it out because it’s very flexible. That flexibility can make it easy to sound bad until you figure it all out. So it’s definitely not a plug and go amp.

Is it a good amp? I think so. But it’s not for everyone. The frequency range it can handle is impressive. But, much like the old Acoustic Control amps that form part of its design heritage, it can be pretty unforgiving at times if your technique is sloppy. Because everything you play is going to to be heard loud and clear.

Are there ‘better’ amps out there? I definitely think so. Tastes in bass tone have changed and amp technology has drastically improved over the years. The new amps are lighter, more powerful, and more reliable.

Worth getting? Like everything, it all depends. I’ve seen them in more than one recording studio. And I know a few owners who swear by theirs. I’m more in the camp that just thinks of SWRs as being another nice amp. That said, if I were shopping for an amp today, I wouldn’t be shopping for an SWR. There’s just too many better choices with today’s amps.

 

[micahwc]

When I enlisted in 2001 i used part of my sign on bonus for a SWR 350 and a Goliath 410. I loved it. Kept them for 10 years and sold them to buy Christmas presents for my kids. Kids don’t have any of the toys we bought for them…….

 

[jerry]

My SWR years were from '89 when Eden was building their cabs to about '94.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Was SWR good product in 2005?

Yeah.

They're hella scooped though.